DESPITE months of dire warnings, a lack of attention by government officials and the pork industry has allowed the African swine fever (ASF) to take hold in the Philippines. If the situation is not addressed as the critical emergency it now is with aggressive action to halt the disease, it will destroy an entire agricultural sector.
ASF, as the name implies, originated from Africa, but it has been spreading from China since the early part of this year. It is completely harmless to humans, but is highly contagious and has a 100-percent fatality rate among pigs. Pigs can catch the disease by being in contact with infected pigs, their meat or body fluids, or even places infected pigs have been or objects they have touched. The disease has now spread to every part of the world, with the worst outbreaks being in China and Europe.
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